1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of construction equipment, specifically to wrenches for holding bolts and screw heads in place.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many construction projects involve the use of hardware fasteners. Fasteners are devices which mechanically join or affix two objects or components together, including bolts, buckles, buttons, clamps, clasps, ties, pins, flanges, grommets, hooks, bolts, nuts, screws, pegs, dowels, pins, rings, staples, snaps, and zippers. Different fasteners have different fastener strengths, and for certain applications, very strong connections are required, particularly for fasteners used in habitable structures, where a joint failure could result in injury or death.
In many applications, multiple fasteners are used to ensure that the joint is sufficiently strong. For example, deck and railing spindles are both decorative and safety elements, filling gaps between structural elements to prevent pets and people, especially children, from falling through the gaps. As such, ensuring that the spindles are firmly attached to structural elements of the decking is crucial, and multiple strong fasteners may be used.
Single-component fasteners, such as screws, depend upon friction between the fastener and the material into which it is implanted for strength. For screws embedded in wood, this connection can weaken over time, allowing the screw to loosen or dislodge, which can result in the spindle falling loose and presenting a dangerous gap and a falling hazard. Instead, key components like spindles are attached using a bolt and nut combination, where the bolt is inserted through a hole in the spindle mount and a nut is screwed onto the end of the bolt and tightened. The bolt and nut are made from rigid materials, generally a galvanized metal for outdoor applications, and the friction between the bolt and nut attachment provides added strength and does not depend upon the wood maintaining its structural strength. For extra stability, a pair of bolts is used to mount each end of the spindle.
While this lends superior strength to the construction, it adds time. Attaching a screw is a simple matter of using a powered drill to drive the screw into the wood, and takes mere moments. Other single-component fasteners are even simpler, such as brads or nails which can be almost instantaneously driven into the wood using an air-powered tool. This requires the worker to view the installation point only from the attaching side. The worker simply lines up the spindle hole with the wood and drives the fastener.
However, for a bolt and nut installation, hardware is installed on both sides of the attaching surface, requiring the worker to insert the bolt through one side of the structure and screw the nut onto the other, or hold the nut in place on the far side of the structure and screw the bolt through it. Either way, more time and care is required. Instead of simply driving a fastener into one hole and then another, the worker must pause between fasteners to seat the next bolt and nut. While the difference in time may be a matter of a few seconds for a single fastener, a worker may have to attach four or more bolts per spindle, and for a large project, may have to install hundreds or thousands of spindles. Even a difference of a few seconds can add up to hours of lost efficiency and additional worker fatigue for a single project.
Having hardware on both sides of the attaching surface in turn requires two tools because a human hand and/or fingers generally lack the resistive force to allow the fasteners to be sufficiently tightened. Each of the two tools must be configured for the proper size and shape of fastener and bolt: one to hold the nut in place, and one to turn the bolt, or vice versa. Where two structural elements are being fastened together, the elements must also be held in place. This presents a difficult maneuver for the builder, who must hold multiple components in place, hold multiple fasteners in place, and then attach, hold in place, and manipulate two different tools.